Building and air conditioning structure



Nov. 10, 1959 B. E. cURRAN BUILDING AND AIR CONDITIONING STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 16, 1956 FIG.I

IN VEN TOR. Bernard E. Curran BY ou-t i?. Gamed@ ATTORNEY NOV- 10, 1959 B. E. CURRAN 2,911,898

BUILDING AND AIR CONDITIONING STRUCTURE I Filed Oct. 16, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1| U`/ f//uk/f @enig/g1g FIGB BY ma@ ma@ ATTORNEY Nov. l0, 1959 B. E. CURRAN 2,911,898

BUILDING AND AIR CONDITIONING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 16, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIC-5.2

FIG. 5

IN VEN TOR. Bernard E. Curran ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1959 B.. E. CURRAN BUILDING AND AIR CONDITIONING STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 16, 1956 INVEN TOR Bernard E. C urran BY PM 20L@ A TTOPLNEY United States Pateag BUILDING AND AIR CONDITIONING STRUCTURE Bernard E. Curran, Sewickley, Pa., assignor `to H. H. Robertson Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 16, 1956, Serial No. 616,286

4 Claims. (Cl. 98-31) This invention relates to a building and air distributing structure and more particularly to a building and air conditioning structure of the type forming the subject matter of United States patent to R. P. Goemann, No. 2,729,429, dated January 3, 1956. l

The Goemann patent discloses a building and air conditioning and distributing system and apparatus wherein cellular metal iloors form the load supporting structure at each of selected stories of a multi-story building, and the present invention has for an object to provide novel apparatus for conducting 'air from one or more of the air conducting floor cells to an outlet or discharge unit mounted upon the floor and lspaced laterally from the air conducting cell or cells.V

A further object of the invention is to provide a structure of Aconnected conduit members which may be used with advantage for connecting an air carrying cell of the floor unit to an outlet unit through which the air may be discharged into a building and wherein the connecting conduit structure lends itself to simple and economical modification to adapted the structure to situations where the outlet is laterally spaced varying distances from the air conducting cell.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel duct connecting structure made up of cooperating units designed for simple and leconomical manufacture and which may be assembled conveniently and erected with minimum labor expense to connect the underside of an air conducting cell of a iioor to an outlet mounted upon the upper side of lthe iloor and spaced laterally from the air conducting cell.

With these general objects in view the invention consists in the air distributing structure of the type illustrated in the Goemann patent above referred to, as( hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification, and also in the connecting duct structure and units thus described and claimed.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of ythe invention:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan of a portion of a cellular metal floor wherein air is conducted through selected floor cells as shown in said Goemann patent above referred to;

Fig. 2 is 'a cross sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. l viewed in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of certain duct connection components illustrating the manner in which the air is connected through the iioor from the underside to the upper side thereof;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the -units employed for such through oor connection;

Fig. 5 is a plan of a flange stack member comprising one of the units of the duct connection;

Fig. 6 is a perspective;

Figs. 7 and 8 are vertical sectional details illustrating a modified form of through oor connection; and

Fig. 9 is a similar detail of another modification of the same.

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The building and air conditioning and distributing structure forming the subject matter of the Goemann patent above referred to embodies a cellular metal floor of the type illustrated in the patent to Young, No. 1,867,433, and wherein a multiplicity of air conducting cells form a part of the structural load supporting cellular metal oor itself. As illustrated in the Goemann patent, provision is made for supplying air, particularly conditioned air, to selected and a number of spaced air conducting floor cells, and the present invention is particularly concerned with the conduction'of the air from one or more of the air conducting cells to outlets spaced laterally from the particular air conducting cells. -Preferably, provision is made for'connecting the undersideof the air conducting cell with an outlet unit mounted upon the upper side of the oor and spaced laterally a substantial distance from the air conducting cell. Preferably, this duct connection is made by assembling a plurality of cooperating units in a novel and'eicient manner including a duct structure extended through an opening formed in the floor and connected to the air discharge outlet mounted on the upper side of the floor. The individual components of the connecting duct system and apparatus lend themselves to economical factory production and are designed to facilitate assembly and minimize erection costs. v

Referring to the drawings, the invention is concerned with the duct connection of an air dischange outlet 10 mounted on the upper side of the flooring structure shown in the Goemann patent, No. 2,729,429 with the underside of an air conducting cell 12 forming a part'of the oor and particularly with an air conducting celll 12 spaced laterally from the outlet structure, as -shown in Fig. 2. The duct connection includes a specially constructed unit arranged to extend through a multicellular fiooring section 14. As illustrated, the complete duct connection includes a connecting duct 16 mounted under the door connected with the underside of an air conduct* ing cell 12 in airtight relation by clamping means 15. The upper surface of the duct 16 and the bottom Wall of the air conducting cell 12 are provided with openings preferably of the same size, and an airtight connection may and preferably will be made by means of a sleeve 21 having flanges 25, 27 and suitable gaskets 29 interposed between the flanges and the respective under and upper surfaces of the cell 12 and duct 16 respectively. The lower ange 27 may be fastened by screws (not shown) to the duct 1-6 and upper iiange '25 secured to the underside of the cell 12 by a ianged clamping member 31 having an upper iiange clamped on the'inner surface of the bottom wall of the cell by screw connections between the lower ange of the clamping member and an angle shaped portion 33 on the inside of the sleeve 21. The duct 16 is of a length such as to position a second end portion under the discharge outlet to which connection is to be made. The second end of the duct 16 is connected in airtight relation to a flanged adapter 2i) having an outwardly turned lower flange 42 and an inwardly turned upper flange 44 which latter flange is connected by screw connections to an inwardly turned bottom anlge 46 of a anged sleeve member 22 extended through openings 23 cut in the upper and lower walls of a non-air conducting cell of the rnulticellular floor sec-- tion. 14. The upper flange 44'8 of the sleeve member 22 rests on a bearing plate 24 placed on top of the section 14, as shown, for transmitting the load of the outlet and conections to the load supporting floor 14, and a anged stack member 26 having an outwardly turned bottom iiange '50 is connected to rthe outwardly turned upper tiange y48 of the sleeve member 22 by clamping means 3S which includes interior lugs in each member 22, 26 connected by bolts. Suitable gaskets 30 are provided at each clamped joint. As shown in Fig. 2, a second and similar connecting duct structure 32 may be provided and extended from an adjacent air conducting cell 12 for connection to the second stack of the air discharging outlet structure when it is desired to supply air from more than one oor cell to the outlet 10. The remainder of the stack 26 comprises a conduit 41 having upper and lower anges 52, S4 respectively adapted to be screwed to the outlet and upper flange 56 of the member 26.

In a modified form of the invention, as shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the duct member 22 extended through the multicellular ooring section 14 is illustrated in an outlet structure associated with a screed box, indicated generally at 34. The modied structure includes a anged adapter member 36 having an inwardly turned upper ange 69 and an outwardly turned lower flange 62 which replaces the intermediate stack member 26 of the structure shown in Fig. 3, and wherein the main stack or chimney 41 of the outlet 10 is connected by its lower ange 54 directly to the inwardly turned upper flange 60 of the member 36 as shown, the outwardly turned lower flange 62 being connected to the outwardly turned upper flange 48 of the sleeve 22.

A further modified form of duct extension through the multicellular oor is shown in Fig. 9 and includes a onepiece duct member or sleeve 50 having inwardly turned anges 64 at its upper end for direct connection to the underside of the outwardly extended flange 54 of the main stack or chimney 41, the lower flange `66 being adapted for direct connection to the conduit 16.

It will be observed that in the illustrated duct connections the individual components are of a simple construction, and the structures are such as may be factory fabricated so that lield labor and erection expense is minimized. Further, by erecting the duct connection utilizing a plurality of components, as described, it is possible to adapt the duct connection structure to dilerent spacings of outlet with relation to the air conducting cell without resort to special fittings.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In an air distributing and building structure, a cellular metal load supporting oor having an air conducting cell forming a component of the floor, an air outlet unit for discharging air into the space above the floor, said unit being mounted on the upper side of the oor and spaced laterally from the air conducting cell, a laterally extended conduit mounted under and in proximity to the oor connected at one end of said air conducting cell, conduit means comprising a sleeve extended upwardly through an opening in one of the non-air canying cells of the door, said sleeve having an outwardly turned ange at its top end supported from the upper surface of the load supporting oor and having an inwardly turned flange at its bottom end, and an adapter connecting the sleeve about an opening in the second end of the laterally extended conduit, said adapter having an inwardly turned top iange and an outwardly turned bottom flange, the outwardly turned bottom ilange of the adapter being connected to the second end of the laterally extended conduit and the top flange of the adapter being connected to the bottom flange of the upwardly extended sleeve, said last-named connection being eiected between the walls of said sleeve to thereby provide an accessible connection capable of being tightened upon completion of the oor.

2. An air distributing and building structure as dened in claim l wherein a anged stack member is provided for connecting the outlet unit to the top ange of the sleeve.

3. An air distributing structure as defined in claim l wherein a flanged adapter is connected between the 0utwardly turned top flange of the sleeve and the outlet unit.

4. In an air distributing and building structure, a cellular metal load supporting oor having an air conducting cell forming a component of the oor, an air outlet unit for discharging air into the space above the iloor, said unit being mounted on the upper side of the floor and spaced laterally from the air conducting cell, a. laterally extended conduit mounted under and in proximity to the floor connected to said air conducting cell, and conduit means comprising a sleeve having an inwardly turned flange at its upper end and extending upwardly through an opening in one of the non-air carrying cells of the floor, an adapter having an outwardly turned bottom liange and supported at its bottom end upon the upper surface of the floor and having an inwardly turned flange at its upper end extending over the inwardly turned upper ange of the sleeve, said air outlet unit having an outwardly turned bottom flange arranged on top of the inwardly turned upper ange of the adapter and being secured to the inwardly turned underlying flanges of the adapter and sleeve, the lower end of said sleeve being adapted for connection with an opening in the second end of the laterally extended conduit.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,272,356 Sims Feb. 10, 1942 2,447,278 Roper Aug. 17, 1948 2,625,095 Julian Jan. 13, 1953 2,701,998 Wulle Feb, l5, 1955 2,729,429 Goemann Jan. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 527,631 Great Britain Oct. 14, 1940 

